Healthy eating habits should be introduced in children from an early age. A child’s diet should be full of valuable nutrients to ensure their proper development. At the same time, it is important to remember that the child is a careful observer. If you want to persuade them to eat healthy, you may need to modify your own food choices. Below is a short guide to feeding your child. Find out what your child’s diet should look like and which nutrients to put special emphasis on.
The most important information about children’s nutrition
A child’s menu should be individually tailored to their needs. The most important criterion is age. A baby’s first food is breast milk or formula. Over time, the young body needs more and more different nutrients. At the same time, mechanisms are being developed that allow them to eat food on their own. In this post, we will deal with the diet of children of early school and school age. We will tell you which nutrients are necessary for proper development and what eating habits to introduce to prevent overweight.
Child’s energy needs
Energy requirement is the number of calories your body needs per day to function properly. It is assumed that a child from the age of four should eat from 4 to 5 meals a day (preferably at fixed times). Meals should have small portions so that the child does not eat too much. A four-year-old should eat an average of 1400 kcal a day, although the exact calorie content should be consulted with a pediatrician or dietician. The calorific value in the child’s diet should be adjusted not only to the age and height, but also to the child’s level of physical activity.
The right nutrient balance
The key to a child’s proper development and well-being is a healthy, well-balanced diet. A child’s menu should include all valuable nutrients in the right proportions. These include: proteins, carbohydrates, fats (mainly of plant origin) and vitamins and minerals.
Principles of nutrition for school-age children and the problem of obesity
Childhood obesity is one of the diseases of civilization in the 21st century. Obesity can be caused by genetic factors or hormonal changes. However, most often, weight gain is caused by an unhealthy lifestyle – poor diet and low levels of physical activity. Adhering to the principles of healthy eating, giving up highly processed products, the right amount of exercise and proper hydration are usually enough to limit weight gain. However, the diet menu of an overweight child should be consulted with a paediatrician and dietician on an ongoing basis. If you are significantly overweight, you will need to introduce reduced-calorie meals and increase your activity.
Tailoring your child’s diet to their needs
If your child struggles with food intolerances or allergies, it is worth preparing a sample menu together with a dietician. A specialist will provide you with practical tips to help you find suitable, high-value substitutes for the excluded products. Each diet should be selected individually, and if your child has special needs, you should take care of a well-balanced, wholesome menu.
Changing the eating habits of the whole family
Are you restricting sweets in your child, and you snack on unhealthy snacks between meals? A child (especially at school age) is an attentive observer. It will be harder for you to stay disciplined if you don’t follow the rules yourself. This also applies to other family members, including older siblings. Introducing healthy habits throughout the home will benefit the whole family.
A child’s menu must include fresh and minimally processed products. The new food pyramid, i.e. a graphic record reflecting nutrition standards, emphasizes vegetables and fruits. The next levels of the pyramid include: cereals, dairy, legumes, fish, eggs, lean meats and vegetable fats.
Vegetables and fruits
A child’s diet should include as many different colored vegetables and fruits as possible. The more variety, the better. Fruits and vegetables not only provide the body with valuable nutrients, but also allow you to compose tasty and colorful meals. Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of fiber, thanks to which they give a feeling of satiety and regulate the functioning of the digestive system. A healthy gut means better immunity of the body, which is extremely important, especially in young children who are very susceptible to infections. Fruits and vegetables also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin C is an extremely important component of the diet of a child at the age of intensive growth. Ascorbic acid determines the proper functioning of the circulatory system – it stimulates the production of red blood cells and reduces the risk of anemia. Proper further growth of the child is also possible thanks to vitamin D – this component plays an important role in the absorption of calcium, i.e. an element necessary for building bones. Vitamins A and E are strong antioxidants that are responsible, among other things, for the development of the organ of vision.
Cereal products
Whole grain products are the primary source of carbohydrates. In the diet of a child at an age of intensive growth, carbohydrates play a particularly important role – they provide energy to all cells, conditioning the proper functioning of all organs, including the brain. What’s more, whole grains are a good source of fiber, vitamins (primarily B vitamins), copper, magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus.
Milk and dairy products are an excellent source of protein, calcium, and vitamin D. A young child’s body needs these nutrients to grow properly. Protein is the basic building block of the body. Vitamin D is involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism and the formation of bones and teeth. In addition, it supports the proper functioning of the immune and nervous systems.
Children have a high demand for calcium, as this element is necessary for the proper course of bone-forming processes (bones contain as much as 99% of calcium). A baby’s first source of calcium is breast milk (or formula). Breastfeeding provides your baby with adequate levels of this mineral from the first month of life. In older children, it is worth taking care of various sources of calcium.